If you limit TV in your house, is it because...

[ChrisN in NY]

your kiddos would sit and watch it all day? That is why my sister doesn't allow the TV to run much at her house. Is this true for others as well?.

 

Yes, most of my kids WOULD sit and watch it for every minute it was on.

 

I'm a big fan of limiting screen time; I've seen the benefits in my own children's behavior and attitudes.

 

However, I also limit for content and because most commercials are really inappropriate for children.

 

Plus I'm not really much of a tv person.

 

I don't like having a quiet house meaning without background noise. Of course, the girls are talking, playing, yelling, running, etc. So do you just have a quiet, no background noise, home? Or what do you do for background noise? Music?

 

I like background noise too, and always have music on. I've done so for most of my life.

[cylau]

When I was growing up, the TV was locked inside the TV cabinet. The only time I could watch TV was when my parents wanted to watch TV, ie. news, weather and 1 soap opera a day. News made me depressed. Soap opera had violence. My parents did not offer me books to read and I did not have much toys either. I am not sure this is the best way to deal with the screen time issue.

 

Now with my older one, I limit his screen time (TV, games) to 1 hour a day. He can earn extra screen time by doing math faster, since he always work very slow in math. Educational TV and chess online program is free. His day is full with homeschooling, good books, outdoor time and screen time.

[Guest janainaz]

I shut it off when we start school. Ds5.5 would watch Disney Channel or Nick all day if I let him. I can't stand having the TV on at all. I used to have music on all the time, but my ds10 can't stand any noise whatsoever while he's working. So it's somewhat silent, but then again I have my 5 year-old..... it's not THAT quiet.

[Peela]

I find the TV an invasion of my space.

I like quiet.

[Carrie12345]

Between the television, the iPod dock, and the computers, there's almost always something running in the background. I like it that way, most of the time.

 

My kids would/will each sit and watch for large chunks of time *if* they have sole control over the remote. Since we have 4 kids with different show preferences, it's never really been much of an issue. They have to take turns. The rest drift off to do other things when it isn't their turn.

[Jen in PA]

There are times when I intervene to shut the tv off and move the kids on to another activity, but it's not as often as I would have expected. My kids usually get bored after a half hour or so and run off to do something else on their own. I only allow PBS before school work is done, and we don't really get much programming for children on the handful of other channels that we get, so maybe that's part of it (we pick up Disney channel as a fluke with our bare-bones cable, but no Nick, etc.). I have friends whose kids throw tantrums when it's time to turn of the tv or Wii, and I just don't get that at all.

[Stacy in NJ]

So, yes, that is why I limit screen time in our house.

[amy g.]

I also read Endangered Minds years ago.

 

My children have never been allowed to watch TV or anything with commercials. The whole purposes of commercials is to make the audience unhappy with their current situation, and to want more of something...more of something that won't actually help or make anybody happy.

 

Why should I subject my children to that kind of manipulation?

 

We do play video games together when all of our work is done, which is so rare that it automatically reduces screen time. I allow Netflix movies, but they sit around for weeks before we have time to watch them.

 

My oldest children are old enough for me to feel like their TV-free childhood has been a huge success. They are just such happy, hard-working, well-adjusted teens. In fact, they say that not watching TV has been more influential in their lives than being homeschooled has.

 

At this point, my 4 year old and 9 month old might develop a TV habit if I allowed it, but my three oldest have no patience at all for what passes for television entertainment.

[Laurie4b]

Yes, my kids would watch all day if we didn't limit screen time (both TV and computer). Your kids are pretty young; at their ages, mine wouldn't have sat still to watch all day either.

 

And yes, I prefer no background noise unless I am doing something with no mental work like cleaning. Noise is very aversive to me. I can barely stand to visit my father's home because they leave the TV on for "background noise" and yet want to carry on a conversation. I can't do both: I can either concentrate on watching what is on TV or hold a conversation. Trying to talk with the background stuff on is physically painful. I didn't used to be so sensitive to it, but once perimenopause hit, I lost the ability to "tune" noise into the background. It's all foreground to me.

[ChristusG]

I limit TV for several reasons:

 

1. content - I want to monitor what my kids watch.

2. time - There's much better things to do than sit and watch TV all day. My kids wouldn't watch all the time, but it would be more than I want them to.

3. It is a distraction with schooling, meal times, family time.

[ma23peas]

We limit for content...our world is too much of a consumerism state and I believe that can become a stumbling block...even on religious channels, they're trying to sell you something...our background noise is our discussions...we really all do talk to each other about little things, but my children are older...(11,12,15) when they were younger we would have videos with no commercials playing while I cleaned and they played...we loved dancing around to "P, B & J" and "Hey, it's Franklin!!!" :)

 

Tara

[Alicia64]

I haven't read the other posts, but I should tell you that I love TV. . . for me. I always say to my dh, "I'm already ruined!" :lol:

 

We don't have much TV in the house these days (me included) because:

 

1) it brings in a very yucky level of culture into our homes and lives that I don't think kids or adults need. In fact, it robs kids of a level of innocence.

 

2) seriously cuts into reading aloud time. Seriously cuts into outdoor play with dh when he's home in the evening. Cuts into play with each other.

 

3) Messes with brain synapses. Studies talk about it constantly.

 

4) I loathe the commercials and the "buy, buy, buy" luring that they do. By the time the kids are 18, they've heard way too much of the "you need a new car." "You need expensive make up." Blah, blah, blah.

 

Like I say, I'm already ruined!!!

 

Alley

[Pamela H in Texas]

When my kids were little, they wouldn't dream of watching tv any amount of time. The limit in my head at that time was an hour per day. If they got close to that, I would have limited it to that. But they didn't. Most days, they didn't watch any.

 

When they started wanting more video game and tv time, I did limit it so it didn't ease into all day.

 

As teens, I decided that outside of logical consequences, they needed to learn to limit themselves. I believe they spend too much time in front of one screen or another; but they do take care of business. I think it's reasonable that some people spend more time online or whatever just as other people spend more time skiing. As long as they are generally balanced, I think it's fine to do the things you like.

 

Of course, we all limit for content. The great majority of what is on tv is highly inappropriate, imo. We do each situation by the strictest conscience (which is usually my daughter's, then mine, then ds's, and lastly dh).

[Lolosoli]

In my home...when we are not watching television, it MUST be turned off.

 

There is nothing I HATE more than seeing my children doing something fun and creative.....and then hear a television show and stop to go see. Especially if one child is the moment doing something important and another child turns it on or turns the channel. I also do not like children playing/doing something/reading/etc., and constantly look down at what they are doing and then back at the television..back and forth, back and forth.

 

Television time is for watching television...it has a purpose in our home and it is something we generally do together as family or the kids together. Otherwise is off.

 

We tried both ways as an experiment (the above way and simply living it on with no limits or restrictions) and *everyone* likes our home better the above way. I don't even have to remind them to turn it off....they prefer to do so.

[lisabelle]

I don't have a child who's particularly interested in TV--right now he loves The Colony, so we record it every week and we all watch the NBC comedies on Thursday night as a family, but ds (11) has his projects that he's interested in once our school day is over and he's generally working on those most of the evening, or else he and dad watch a movie together.

 

I grew up in a house where the TV didn't go on until 6PM and we were allowed to watch whatever we wanted once my dad watched his MASH. It worked pretty well for us and works pretty well for ds. Knowing that we had a good 2-3 hours of freedom with the TV was enough to keep my brothers and I from really *craving* TV. And it seems to work out for DS too. He likes MythBusters, Cash Cab, American Pickers, the challenge shows on the Food Network, The Colony. I've got no problems with those choices, but other than The Colony, he hardly seeks them out.

 

I do feel like the house seems rather dead and cheerless without some noise, so the stereo is on all day.